Seeking deeper engagement with ASEAN, India today invited the powerful bloc to take advantage of its 'Make-in-India' initiative and invest in railways, ports, highways and smart cities besides forging closer ties in combating terrorism and other transnational crimes.
Addressing the annual Delhi Dialogue on ASEAN-India partnership, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also identified maritime cooperation as a major area and said both sides have started talks on a maritime transport pact which could be firmed up by year-end.
Pitching for enhanced transport connectivity between the two sides, Swaraj said India was simultaneously endeavouring to transform the corridors of connectivity into corridors of economic cooperation.
"Enhancing connectivity between India and ASEAN in all its aspects - physical, institutional and people-to-people, is a key strategic priority for us. Our North-Eastern region is our land-bridge to the ASEAN," she said.
Senior ministers from a number of ASEAN countries were present on the occasion.
Noting that there was huge scope for enhancing economic engagement between the two sides, Swaraj said India-ASEAN Agreements on Trade in Services and Investment will also unleash large potential for mutual investment.
Talking about government's efforts to ease norms for doing business under its 'Make-in-India' initiative, she said ASEAN companies could look for investments in a large number of sectors such as smart cities, roads and highways, ports, railways, power and urban infrastructure.
ASEAN is India's fourth largest trading partner and the annual trade between the two sides stood at over USD 76 billion in 2013.
"We need to make a special effort to achieve our target of enhancing trade to USD 100 billion by 2015 and our aspiration to double it to USD 200 billion by 2022. We will have to significantly augment the utilisation level of the Agreement on Trade in Goods and further liberalise the tariff lines.
"I am glad that the process has started to revive the ASEAN-India Trade Negotiations Committee to kick-start these discussions. Investment flows are also substantial both ways, with ASEAN accounting for approximately 12.5 per cent of investment flows into India since 2000," she said.
FDI outflows from India to ASEAN countries over the last 7 years were over USD 31 billion while FDI equity inflows into India from ASEAN countries during this period were over USD 25 billion.
On the security challenges, Swaraj said "as countries inhabiting a contiguous geographical space, India and ASEAN member-states share several common traditional and non-traditional security challenges."
"We have also consciously striven to step up our consultations with ASEAN mechanisms dealing with terrorism and other transnational crimes," she said.
